Miles: 17.5
Time: 3 hours
Avg Speed: 5
Max Speed: 6.8
March 7th, Thursday: Around noon the wind finally changed so we could go north around the top end of the Berries and to the west side of Great Harbor Cay. We were a little frustrated with all the engine issues and weather issues and ready for a change of scenery.
The sail north was actually very nice and we enjoyed scoping out Little Stirrup Cay and Great Stirrup Cay where all the cruise ships port. Little Stirrup Cay is quite the amusement park island. Reminded me of “Pleasure Island” from Pinnocio… but I saw no “Jack Asses” (aka donkeys).
We arrived to Great Harbor Cay – east bay in just 3 hours. Right when we arrived I noticed water all over the floor. Turns out we had a hot water pipe burst while we were transiting. We wondered how much water we lost into the bilge… So after we anchored Stew took to fixing the pipe (removing and replacing it). Thankfully I knew where all the parts we needed were so this fix didn’t take much time. We were both anxious to explore this new area.
Once the water pipe was fixed, Stew dove on the anchor to be sure it was set then we headed out in the dinghy. We circled around and met a few of the neighbors, passing our boat card. We always worried that the boat might drift while we were off in the dinghy so they had our phone number and we also carried the VHF radio.
This was such a cool place. The water here was back to being aqua and very clear. We checked out the beach and went down the shark creek a bit. But we were losing light so we didn’t want to get too far from our “mother ship”.
We actually knew someone who owned a place on Great Harbor Cay, Lori Lang. I spoke to her earlier in the day to get the “low down” on the area. She was currently in the States but we could see her house from the boat. Maybe we will see her on our return.
The evening was very comfortable and we enjoyed the sunset.
March 8th, Friday: We awoke with new energy in our step now that we were back in “Bahamas colored water” and in a place that looked more like the picturesque Bahamas.
With the sun finally shining bright I pulled out the solar oven and made some breakfast muffins – eggs with peppers, sausage, and cheese.
We waited until last morning for low tide and we went back out on the dinghy to explore Hawksnest Cay. With water being very shallow we could walk almost right out to the ocean – it was really neat. We found a lot of sanddollars and a few starfish but not many fish.
March 9th, Saturday: Wind and current were up today so not much was done. We did some swimming at the boat and I made plantains in the solar oven. I also made some sweet potato brownies.
March 10th, Sunday: We decided we would go south today since we had a north wind to push us. The wind would not shift to North until noon or 1pm so we made water in the morning. Once we finished we packed everything up and headed south out into the Northwest Providence Channel in the Atlantic Ocean.
